Soul Eater: DARK Witches
by The-Fifth-Sun
Summary: Asura is alive(and a teen?)and attends Shibusen in disguise,with help,obviously.He lives next to Maka and Soul,with two teen girls,two children,and their ere are OCs,no I'm not shipping them with Asura.Unless you want me ey need to help the clueless Kishin redeem himself,protect his true identity,and stay hidden themselves.Rated for teen!Asura's boundary issues.
1. The Stranger in the Alley

**Please review so I can know if it's okay or not.**

* * *

_Death City was still recovering from the battle against the Kishin Asura. It had been three months since the gothic city's very own students had brought down the Kishin, even so, everything seemed to be back to normal. The group that defeated the Kishin consisted of Maka Albarn, Soul 'Eater' Evans, Blackstar, Tsubaki, Death the Kid, and Liz and Patty Thompson. These students were well respected and pretty much the center of attention for almost every student. Their story of the Kishin's defeat was still wide spread and what a story it was!_

_...THIS IS NOT THEIR STORY..._

* * *

The day had just ended and the students of Shibusen hung in the halls, saying their goodbyes to friends or talking about later plans, all taking their good old times. Well almost everyone...

"OUT OF THE WAY!"The shriek gave everyone a seconds warning before a blur of black and red shot down the hall, forcing them to hug the walls. The blur charged through the school, pushing past a team of meisters and their weapons, knocking a loud, blue haired boy to the ground, calling out a quick apology before leaping form the highest step of the stairs. A girl with long, black hair in a ponytail leaned forward slightly, a worried look on her face.

"Blackstar! Are you alright?" She asked as he sat up. He laughed flashing a big grin at his weapon.

"Of course I'm alright! I'll surpass God! A little thing like that can't hurt me, Tsubaki!" He exclaimed, standing and brushing himself off. "By the way, who was that?" An ash blonde girl turned back around, she had been staring at the spot the other had disappeared.

"I think that was Ryuukin Tsukashima, she's always so busy..." the girl stated. The others looked at her, slightly confused.

"Tsukashima...like, Itachi Tsukashima?" This time a boy with black hair and three white stripes on the left side of his head spoke up. He had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Yeah, you know her Kid?" The girl asked.

"You could say that. She sits in front of me in class, she is a very good artist. I even asked her to draw something for me, something symmetrical of course." He laughed a little, shaking his head. "Why do you ask, Maka?"

"Just curious," she replied, smiling. A white haired boy groaned beside her.

"Maka, if you're going to ask, have a good reason. It's not cool to ask without a reason." He said, shrugging.

"You're being hypocritical, Soul." Maka said, eye twitching in annoyance. "Anyway, have you talked to Itachi other than about a picture?" Kid looked Maka, and nodded.

"A little. She's very quiet, but I found out she lives in the same apartment complex as you. She told me if she isn't in school and her sister isn't, then I should bring over the notes or homework." He explained, smiling."She also works at a restaurant at the other end of the city with her sister."

"That's really sweet Kid!" A girl with long, blonde hair said. She smiled, asking," Do you have her address?" Kid nodded, pulling out the slip of paper and handing it to her.

"Don't lose it, Liz. And don't give it to Patty."

"Fine, now, lets see..." the girl scanned the paper. "Oh! She lives right next to you Maka!" Kid snatched the paper back and looked at it.

"She's right...how did I miss that?" He muttered, stuffing it back in his pocket.

"I guess Maka and I are going to visit her later then...so how about we go play some basketball ?" The group wandered away, looking forward to their game.

* * *

Ryuukin ran through the streets, dodging the passersby. She glanced down at her watch," Ahh! I'M GONNA BE LATE! WHERE'S THAT SHORTCUT!" She looked around frantically, trying to find the way. "Oh! There it is!" She made a sharp right turn, leaping over a person and into the ally behind them. Still keeping up her initial speed, she maneuvered around pile of trash and toppled garbage cans. 'Okay...' she thought,'it was right, left, right, straight for two, left, straight for seven, right, and then there should be a fence...'

She sighed in relief, knowing she wasn't lost, at the sight of the wooden fence. In one leap she managed to grab the top of it, and swung herself over, landing on both feet. She went to run again, but her foot caught on something and she sprawled out onto the ground. "Owwww...What did I trip over?" Ryuukin whined. 'Probably some drunkard left his bottle laying around...' she thought. Sighing, she looked back, and promptly leapt to her feet. There was a boy, laying face down in front of her. He had shoulder length black hair, with white eye-like patterns at the ends. From what she could tell, he was very thin, she assumed it had been awhile since he'd eaten anything, and it looked like his outfit was made of bandages.

Against her better judgement she knelt next to him. She wasn't necessarily sure that he was unconscious, but her morals refused to let her leave him. Aside from that, she felt that she would always wonder what might have happened. Ryuukin reached out carefully, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. The boy shot upright, throwing himself against the fence, red eyes watching her suspiciously. She was slightly thrown off by the sudden movement , but recovered quickly, instantly taking an interest in the third eye in the middle of his forehead. It didn't take long for him to see what she was staring at, he hurriedly covered it with his hands.

"...Ah? Oh, hehe, sorry! I didn't mean to stare, it just...well, I've never met someone with three eyes before. That's so cool!" She smiled kindly, but it seemed to terrify him more. For a moment she thought he had said something, but it didn't look like he did. "Hm? Did you say something?"

"I said,'What do you want?'" He said in a low voice. The girl was terrifying to him, she was just sitting there, but he could tell she was from Shibusen. He wasn't sure if she was a meister or a weapon, but he didn't want to find out. Her appearance was sudden, he thought he was safe, tucked away in the corner, but no. Of course, he hadn't expected an attempt at a casual conversation, or for her to not scream and run. He studied her. She had waist-length black hair with red and purple streaks in it and was pulled up into a bun, a decorative headdress holding it up. Her eyes were neon purple. The kimono she wore was red, with gold trim, and a golden cherry tree embroidered on it. And...goddammit! She's still smiling!

"Well, I was on my way to work at this new multicultural restaurant that opened last month, when I tripped over you. I was afraid you were dead or sick or something." The smile remained as she looked at him. He was suprised, it really hurt when she tripped over him so she must have been in a hurry, yet she took the time to check on him.

"Ah, thank you. It was nice for you to do that when you have to get to work..." He said, trying to keep the suspicion out of his voice. Her face held obvious confusion at his words. "...Um..."

"Work...?"

"Y-yes. You just mentioned it." She quickly looked at her watch, paling.

"OH MY GOD, I'M LATE FOR WORK!" She pulled a black satchel into her lap, digging through it. "WHERE'S MY CELLPHONE! I GOTTA CALL THE BOSS!" She didn't notice that her mini freak out frightened the boy, who was trying to flatten himself against the fence. "I'm gonna be in so much trouble with Itachi..." She groaned,"I can't believe I left it at home!" She glanced at the boy, who had returned to cowering. "Sorry...I'm really late for work...they're going to dock my pay now...I really should go, but..." she sighed, glancing at him.

"...W-what?..." he asked, no longer hiding his suspicion. Her mood changed much too quickly for his liking. What if she suddenly got mad at him?

"...I don't want to leave you here alone. You don't look very good, are you sick?"

"...I don't get sick..." He stated, trying to hide a slight cough. Ryuukin crossed her arms, eyebrow raised quizzicaly.

"Right, well, I don't know who you are," the boy's head snapped up, and he studied her face for any sign of deception,"but I can't just leave you here. Would you like to come live with me? At least until you're better." She shuffled closer, grabbing his wrists in one hand and using the other to lift his face up. The girl looked him in the eyes, saying,"I'll keep you safe until you're back on your feet. I promise." The strange boy shifted nervously a bit, before nodding his head. Ryuukin smiled, carefully pulling him to his feet and putting his arm around her neck, her arm around his waist. She was shocked by how little he actually weighed, but decided to wait until later to ask. Best not to scare him more. Carefully she led him back towards her appartment.

* * *

**I am using OCs because I think that it would be hard for any Spartoi member to forgive Asura enough to actually help him, without turning him over first.**


	2. A Promise of Safety

**I'll try to make this more from Asura's side.**

* * *

Ryuukin led him up the employee stairway, which she had managed to access. As far as she knew, the employees used the elevator anyway so it would be deserted. She wasn't necessarily worried about someone seeing her with the boy as much as not wanting to run into her rival. She mentally cursed said rival as she scanned the hallway, hurrying to the door to her appartment. She had it unlocked in seconds and dragged the now semi-conscious boy in with her, kicking it shut behind her. "Well, it's not much,but it is home." She said, glancing around the appartment.

They were currently in the living room, which had yellowish wallpaper and a beige couch and two recliners arranged in a semi-circle a few feet away from a medium size , flat screen, TV. There were bookshelves all along the back wall, crammed full of books. An oak coffee table sat in front of the couch, a book titled Japanese Tea Ceremonies rested on it, a bookmark poking out of it. The TV remote sat at the opposite end. Ryuukin lead the boy to the nearest recliner and set him down. He instantly brought his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and ducked his head. "Um...I'll go get you something to eat..."She murmured to herself, slipping through a door across from the entrance. Once gone, the boy peered around.  


He didn't understand her. Her kindness had to be a joke, no one was nice enough to drag a random stranger home like she did. She also didn't know who he was. That had to be a lie! How could she not know he was the Kishin! Was she not told about him? Even if she wasn't, she should have heard some of the rumors about the battle. Asura heard enough rumors living on the streets, even if they were greatly exaggerated. She was going to turn him over to Shibusen! He was sure he understood now, she knew who he was and was trying to gain his trust, then she would lead him into an ambush! If that happened, he wouldn't have a chance to redeem himself! He couldn't let that happen, he'd have to kill her! ' KILL! KILL! KILL!' He thought, biting his nails, giggling a little.

Paranoid thoughts plagued his mind, 'She must die! She is a liar! Kill her before she kills you!' Asura shook his head, trying to push the madness-fueled voice away. 'If you kill her, you can't redeem yourself!' The rational part of his mind screamed at him. 'They won't forgive you! It's hopeless. They should all pay!' The bad voice said. Asura began chewing on his fingertips, having chewed his nails too short. The other voice spoke, 'She said she'd protect you! Remember? Remember the determination in her eyes? She meant it!' Asura paused with blood dripping from his mouth. She did look very serious. Maybe he should trust her? 'NO! She can't be trusted! She will betray you!' He wasn't sure which voice to believe, they both made very good points. 'You remember what you want, right?' The calm voice asked. 'You wanted to learn "courage". This might be your only chance! She is already willing to help you, maybe she'll teach you.' That was true, it would be a shame to waste his only possible opportunity. 'I guess it won't hurt to ask...' Asura thought. The cruel voice growled. 'Fine then, ask. Might as well tell her you're the Kishin as well.' The other voice spoke up, 'That's a great idea! We can find out how much she really knows that way!' Asura thought for a moment,' And if she reacts negatively, I'll just kill her and run!'

Asura grinned, he would attempt to be honest with her. He had made up his mind. Of course, he wasn't stupid, he knew it would take a while to actually trust the girl. Even so, her acceptance would surely earn her some points in his book. He tried to stand up, stumbling before regaining his balance. He made it to the doorway to the kitchen, peeking in cautiously. The room was a sky blue color with polished, white counter tops. A large, silver refrigerator sat in the far right corner, next to another open door. There appeared to be a hallway on the other side. There was also a silver sink and a dish washer to the left of the sink. A little, black microwave was tucked away in the corner opposite the fridge and cabinets lined the walls. Asura made a quick mental note to ask about them later, if he let her live.

He could see the girl holding a device up to her ear, speaking into it in a worried tone while stirring something on the stove. He leaned forward to hear what she was saying, a strange desire to hear the conversation struck him. It was a foreign feeling. "Yes, Itachi. I'm sorry." There was a pause. "Are you sure you're alright today? If not, come home and I'll handle it. You don't have to push yourself." Another pause, and Asura realized there was someone on the other end of the device. Then he realized she was planning to leave. 'NO! I haven't gotten to talk to her yet!' He thought. "Alright, but if you need me, call right away." That sounded like she wasn't going to leave him. "Yes, I will make sure to pick up the twins. Bye." She pressed a button and placed the device on another device, only the other one was bigger. She sighed.

Asura shifted nervously, before walking into the kitchen. He spoke in a shaky voice, cursing his cowardice, "Excuse me..." He stopped when she turned to look at him. There were so many things to ask, some completely unrelated, he didn't know where to start.

"Yes?"

He bit his lip, trying to choose his words carefully. "Uh..What's your name?" Asura asked, deciding to start with the basics. She laughed and he chuckled quietly, not sure what else to do yet not sure what was so funny.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Ryuukin Tsukashima. Who are you?" She smiled kindly, and Asura was suddenly convinced that she was being honest.

"...Uh...I'm the Kishin Asura..." He said, flinching. He was ready for an attack, but it never came. Instead there was a look of concentration on her face.

"Kishin Asura...now where have I heard that before..." She suddenly snapped her fingers, a triumphant expression crossing her features. "I know! You're the guy Lydia's group was talking about! The 'God of Madness', am I right?" He slowly nodded.

"Yes..."

"Say, aren't you supposed to be dead?" She asked, turning back to the stove. Asura shifted again, how was he supposed to answer that?

"I suppose. But I'm not, and...I...I want to redeem myself. I want to atone for my sins..." He watched Ryuukin stiffen and turn around. She gave him a curious look.

"Well, I don't know how you can atone for your sins, but maybe you can start over?" The tone of her voice was somewhat distracted. He tilted his head.

"Start over?"

"Yeah, you know," Ryuukin moved the pot to a different burner, turning off the stove. "We could make your hair all black, and maybe tie a scarf around your third eye. And get you some new clothes. I think people won't recognize you if we do that since most people only recall a specific trait when identifying others. You're supposed to be dead anyway, so they will probably never make the connection." She explained with a smile. Asura assumed she knew what she was saying, even if he didn't, so he would go along with her idea.

"So, you're not going to kill me or hand me over to Shinigami? Are you not afraid of me?" He asked, wondering about her motives.

"Of course not, doing either of those would be pointless. As far as I'm concerned, you are my patient, and my guest. It would be wrong to do that to you. I am not afraid of you either, because you have obviously been weakened by that battle three months ago and it seems like the grip of madness has loosened its hold on you." The girl spoke as if the reason was the most obvious thing in the world. "...Is that blood?" She pointed to his mouth.

Asura brought his hands to his mouth, trying to wipe it away, only to smear more on his face. Ryuukin sighed, pulling a dish rag out of a cabinet, wetting it, and walking up to the boy. He took a step back, cautiously, but stayed in place after that. The girl wiped the blood off, and, to her surprise, enough dirt and grime to turn the rag dark brown. She frowned,but said nothing, getting another rag and wiping the blood off his hands. Asura was glad that they weren't bleeding anymore. Once she was done she grabbed a bowl and a fork and went to the stove, pouring the pot's contents into the bowl. Turning around, she offered it to the Kishin.

"Careful, it's hot." Asura eyed the offering warily, before taking it. There was some kind of yellow broth, with noodles in it and small bits of meat. He looked up at Ryuukin accusingly. "Don't give me that look, it's just chicken noodle soup." She said.

"...I usually eat human souls..." He stated. 'Not that I can anymore.'

"...Riiight," That was all she said. The expression on her face said something more like,'well no shit, but you can't anymore, now, can you?' She turned to clean up the mess from cooking. The Kishin stared at the soup for a few seconds before picking up the fork and trying it. When Ryuukin's attention was back on the Kishin in her kitchen, she was suprised to see him holding an empty bowl out to her. She could see the dopey smile that he was trying to hide as he silently asked for more. 'I bet he's too proud to actually ask for more food,' she thought. "How was it?" She asked. The Kishin raised an eyebrow.

"Better than I expected of human cuisine." The girl fought the urge to smack Asura for that smug comment, instead she took the bowl, setting it on the counter, and dragging him to the adjacent hallway. She led him to a door and stopped.

"This is the bathroom, I want you to wash up while I make more food and find you some clothes. Mostly because, if what I've heard is true, you're using your own skin as clothes. That is both creepy and inappropriate, since you are technically naked...understand?" She spoke quickly, leaving him to figure out what was said on his own. Once it sunk in he darted into the room and closed the door. The room was white and blue with different kinds of fish painted on the wall. There was a large tub in the far right corner and a shower to the left of it. A small shelf separated the toilet and sink from the rest of the room. A turquoise curtain covered the mirror over the sink.

It was easy enough to work the knobs in the shower and get it to a comfortable temperature. He also wrapped the skin scarves around his neck, to make them look more normal. He stepped in the spray, slightly suprised at the amount of dirt that came off. Asura knew he was dirty from being on the streets for three months, but it was worse than he thought. He sat on the ground, carefully washing his scarves. Once finished, he stood again, this time to clean his face and hair. He always had to be wary of his third eye, though, since soap burned it pretty badly. Satisfied that the dirt was gone, he grabbed a towel from the shelf, wrapping it around his waist and taking another to dry his hair with.

He hesitated at the mirror, before moving the curtain out of the way. In his opinion, he didn't look too bad, much better than he did with the layers of dirt and grime covering his entire body. For a moment, he smiled to himself, but then he frowned. Ryuukin's words played in his mind. "What would I look like if I make my hair all black..." He tugged the black and white strands lightly. "Cover this..." His other hand hid the eye in the center of his forehead. He let out a low growl. "I won't think about I. Imagination is humanities greatest weakness. I will not stoop to their level!" Asura gripped the counter tightly.

"That so?" Asura started at Ryuukin's voice on the other side of the door, he looked at it curiously. "I suppose it's a weakness if you only think of the bad things. But imagining the good things can give you the strength to carry on each day."

"Bah! You human scum and your petty ideals. You don't know what you're talking about." He snapped.

"Don't forget that you were defeated by one 'human scum' and her 'petty ideals'!" The girl shot back. Asura growled angrily, and she sighed. "Asura...imagining an altered appearance can't hurt you in the long run." Silence. The Kishin was suprised by the sudden change in tone. "...You probably don't care, but if I never imagined a better life than the one I had, I might not be here right now and you may still be laying face down in an alley or even Shibusen custody." More silence. Better life? What does that mean? He could only wonder. "Last door on the left end of the hall is your room. I found some of dad's old pajamas and left some soup and biscuits on the bedside table...the twins and Itachi look forward to meeting you tomorrow." There was a painfully long silence, before Ryuukin finished. " Good night Asura, I hope you sleep soundly."

Only when her footsteps were gone did he exit the bathroom. He went to the room he was directed to, stomping all the way. The girl was a frustrating one, but kind enough to care for him. He decided to let her live, at least for the moment. He slammed the door shut, discarding the towels and throwing on the clothes, ate the soup, and layed down, falling asleep instantly.


	3. Welcome Home

Asura woke in the middle of the night, feeling something was off. Noticing that he wasn't sleeping his alley, he jumped off the bed. After a moment he recalled the nice girl who found him, although he couldn't remember her name, and gave him a place to stay. What was her name?! She was temperamental and he didn't want her thinking he was ungrateful by forgetting her name. If she thought he was ungrateful, she might give him to Shibusen! He shivered in fear. Or maybe he was just cold. He realized that he was sleeping above the covers and that it does get cold in the desert at night. Yes, he was just cold. No reason to worry about that, she promised she wouldn't do anything like that. Everything was going to be fine!

Even after a short pep talk, Asura still felt uneasy, his paranoia nagging at the back of his mind. As he prepared to go back to bed he heard voices. The Kishin glanced around. Aside from the bed and the table next to it, there was a desk with a couple of boxes on it and a closet across from the bed. No one in the room with him. He listened again, determining that they were coming from the kitchen. Asura stood right beside the kitchen door, listening. Her heard the nice girl and some other girl talking.

"Are you sure he's safe to be around? I mean, seriously, he is the Kishin. How do you know that he won't...you know?" The new voice asked. Asura bristled. They were talking about him!

"Yes Itachi, I'm sure. And you and I both know that while he may be THE Kishin, he's not the only kishin. What about Levi?" She stated. He was confused. He wasn't the only kishin? Apparently not, since they mentioned a kishin called "Levi".

"Leviathan was a witch's experiment and you know it! Don't compare him to...to that one! Levi was scared and alone and hurting, that's why I brought him home!" Itachi exclaimed. Asura huffed angrily at her comment, although he noticed a slight chest pain at the words.

"And you think I brought Asura back just because I wanted to? I found him, semi-conscious and starving in a back alley! He was scared to death of me! I couldn't just leave him for Shibusen to find!" The girl reasoned.

"Yes you could've and you should've! If Shinigami-sama finds out, we're all in trouble! It would've been better to leave him, Ryuukin!" Itachi argued her point yet again, and Asura frowned, knowing Itachi already hated him.

"No! Shinigami won't find out if we stay quiet. I promised Asura that I would keep him safe, anyways, so they'll have to get through me first." She said.

"Arrgh! You're so stubborn! I hate it! He can't stay."

"You're not listening! I can't abandon him, okay? You have to understand, Itachi." Ryuukin begged, switching tactics. "Please don't turn him over! I'm sure you'll get it when you meet him tomorrow!"

"Ryuu..." the girl didn't listen, continuing to beg. "Fine. We'll see tomorrow." Realizing that the conversation was over, Asura retreated to his room. Not long after his door closed, he heard angry footsteps stem down the hall and a door slamming. He crawled back into his bed, curling up on his side under the blankets and going back to sleep, temporarily away from the worry of what he overheard.

* * *

Come morning, the air was still tense. The Kishin sat on his bed, playing with the end of his scarf. He couldn't decide if he should let them know he overheard their conversation or not. So instead of confronting the girls, he just sat in his room. Asura shifted, laying down. His hair was a mess, all tangled up in knots. His pajamas were twisted too, but it wasn't uncomfortable, just strange. In fact, his whole situation was strange. He should be back in the alley, waiting for dark so he could fight the stray dogs for food and hide from the teachers of Shibusen, heading home after some late work. Not anymore. He had a nice place to sleep and food to eat. And Ryuukin, the nice girl who helped him.

Asura was getting bored of thinking, and decided to dig through the boxes sitting on the desk. He pulled the first one down, opening it and pulling out a long, tattered, black jacket. It was made of a soft, but tough fabric. In fact, that was the only thing in the box, giving the impression that it is very important to someone. Asura replaced the jacket and grabbed the other box. There were pictures in it. Lots of framed photos, mostly showing a little Ryuukin, a little, platinum blonde with blue eyes, and a young woman, probably their mother. In a few pictures, there was a man in a black jacket, the same one in the other box. He had long, black hair in a ponytail and pale skin. Asura assumed it was their father. There was only one picture with everyone together, smiling at the camera.

The Kishin wondered where the adults in the picture were at the moment. Were they in the city? What were they like? He dug through the box a little more, jumping when the door opened. Spinning around, he saw Ryuukin looking at him. He wasn't sure if he was in trouble or not.

"Having fun?" She asked, opening the door all the way. "Family photos, it's all we got." Asura remained quiet. "I see you found dad's jacket. You can have it if you want, why don't you come join us for breakfast. The kids really want to see you. They never saw a kishin before, they're so excitable." She turned, walking down the hall to the kitchen. Asura followed silently, he didn't want to meet the other girl who hated him.

She led him into the living room, were three others were seated on the floor around the coffee table. An older version of the girl with blonde hair from the pictures glared at him, but the other two, children of five, ran to greet him. A little boy with fluffy yellow hair and a girl with long brown hair, both having emerald eyes, stared at him. Suddenly, the boy started talking.

"So, you're the Kishin? Are your scarves really made of your skin? Can I touch your hair? What do human souls taste like?" Asura opened his mouth to speak, closing it when he couldn't think of how to respond.

"...Yes, I'm the Kishin...my scarves are made of skin...and...I suppose?" The boy smiled as Asura knelt for him to reach. The blonde girl looked at him.

"Here's a better question," she started,"Why hasn't Shinigami-sama found you yet? I'd think he'd recognize your soul."

"I don't know." He said. Ryuukin sighed, glancing at Itachi.

"...I have a theory. Asura ate the witch Arachne's soul, so he absorbed her power right? Well maybe he subconsciously activated Soul Protect to hide from Shibusen." The girl said. Asura thought for a moment, it made a bit of sense. He glanced at the other girl, who looked like she was giving up. "If that's true, maybe you can change your appearance too?"

Asura nodded, sitting quietly at the table. Ryuukin sat down beside him and the boy sat across. The Kishin was suprised to see they had set a plate for him. While the others ate, he sat there, staring at the food. Itachi noticed and scowled, saying, "You should eat. Ryuu is a proud cook, you know. And her pancakes are the best." He nodded, deciding to try it since he would have to get used to eating regular food to blend in. He was suprised to find he liked it, of course, he wasn't sure how long it was since he ate real food, not counting the previous night. Soon there was an empty plate sitting there.

"No wonder big sister gave you so much food. You must be really hungry." The little girl made a face, suprised at that fact.

"Well, he was under big sisters' school for a long time, so of course he'd be hungry, Terra!" The boy exclaimed.

"I guess that makes sense, Twitch." She nodded in agreement. They finished eating in silence. The girls all took the dishes and headed for the kitchen, leaving Asura with the boy, who was just staring. The Kishin felt awkward, not having anything to say. It wasn't long before Twitch started talking.

"So, are you going to go to Shibusen too?" He asked. Asura shrugged.

"I'm not sure. It could be bad if I do. I don't even have a weapon partner anymore." They were both quiet for a moment.

"I can be your partner! And Terra! We're twin demon claws! We can fully transform too." Twitch said, proudly puffing out his chest.

"I suppose that could work, but why would you want to help me like that?" Asura asked, slightly confused.

"Because we're friends! That's what friends do, they help each other and look out for each other."

"So...we are...friends?" The boy nodded. "And are your sisters my friends too?" Twitch noticed how Asura said the word strangely, but not distastefully, like it was foreign, but he liked the sound of it. He nodded happily to the Kishin.

"Yup, don't worry they like you. Even Itachi. She's just cautious." Asura nodded, not understanding why she would be cautious, but knowing the feeling. " Hey! Why don't you try using your magic like we said earlier! You know, to make yourself look different." The Kishin gave the boy a confused look.

"I don't know how to." He admitted.

"Try imagining it! I bet that works!" Twitch said. The Kishin frowned slightly, but tried none the less, closing his eyes and going along with Ryuukin's ideas. He opened his eyes when he heard clapping, and saw Twitch clapping excitedly. "That is so cool! You did it! I'm gonna go tell Ryuu-chan!" He said, disappearing into the kitchen. When he returned, the three girls followed curiously. Not knowing what else to do, Asura stood to face them, a nervous smile on his face. In return they stared at him.

"You look...normal. Well, normal enough..." Ryuukin said, letting out a slight chuckle. "Took me a minute to recognize you!" Asura looked relieved, at least to Ryuukin. Itachi wasn't sure what to think, she definitely didn't think it was good for him to stay, but if he was trying to hide then she couldn't through him out. She didn't tell her sister that she noticed how lost the Kishin looked, not ready to give in. Then Terra spoke up.

"Is such a cute guy really gonna be our meister, Twitch?" The little boy nodded gleefully and his twin cheered excitedly, then they launched themselves at their meister, knocking him to the ground. The elder girls had to pull the children off of him.

"Why don't you two go get dad's old jacket while we find Asura some clothes. Then we could all go out and show him around, okay?" Itachi suggested, the children ran off to fetch the beloved jacket while Ryuukin and Itachi went to find clothes for the Kishin. Meanwhile, Asura wandered into the bathroom, pulling back the mirror curtain to see what he had done. He notice right away that his hair was fully black and his third eye was missing. Upon closer inspection, he found that a thin, white scar took its place and that his eyes were completely red. Other than that he figured he looked like a younger version of himself, brushing it off as a side effect of his defeat. Soon the family returned, offering him a black t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, as well as the tattered jacket. Once dressed he joined them, ready to go.

The group left the appartment, walking down the hall. The were stopped by a voice.

"Ryuukin?"

* * *

Please comment, I don't know how I'm doing on this story and it really bothers me...


	4. Maka and Soul

"Ryuukin? Ryuukin Tsukashima, right? Oh! And you must be Itachi." The group turned around to see a girl with forest green eyes and ash blonde hair pulled up into pigtails. Standing beside her was a boy with white hair and red eyes, looking bored. Asura took one look at them before jumping behind Ryuukin, eyes wide in terror. Of course the girl's attention was drawn to the sudden movement, but she showed no recognition. "Oh, who are these three?" She asked.

"Ah, the little ones are Twitch and Terra. They're twins. And this is just a boy she found in a back alley. He's very skittish, so be careful around him." Itachi said, pointing to her sister. Ryuukin stuck her tongue out at her in reply. The other girl mimicked her.

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Maka Albarn and this is Soul." Maka smiled at the Kishin, who shifted nervously, not saying anything. Soul frowned slightly.

"You know, it's only polite to introduce yourself. Definitely not cool." Soul stated, shaking his head. Asura made a strange choking sound and grabbed Ryuukin's hand. She was shocked at how badly his hands shook, wondering what was wrong. Soon it hit her, Maka was supposed to have killed him and Soul helped. Asura felt foolish for being so scared, but tried to reassure himself that it was a rational fear. He also felt foolish for holding the ebony haired girl's hand, but tightened his grip instead. Feeling her squeeze his hand gently, he tried to calm his breathing, suprised that he was on the verge of hyperventilating. It was stupid to him that he relied on a human for comfort, but she promised him safety. He looked at the family, his self-proclaimed weapons had moved to stand at his side.

"Didn't you hear Ita-chan! He gets scared easy!" Twitch exclaimed, grabbing the end of Asura's jacket. Terra latched on to the other end, nodding her agreement.

"Yeah! Be nice to him! You're not setting a very good example! You should apologize for scaring our meister!" She stated. Soul glared at the children for a moment, before Maka elbowed him in the side.

"Fine, I'm sorry I scared you. Now, how about telling us your name?" The scythe said, acting as if nothing was wrong. Asura hesitated, looking at Ryuukin. She gave him a friendly smile and nodded, glad that he stopped shaking. The Kishin bit his lip nervously, knowing he couldn't use his real name.

"I-I'm Azra...it's...it's a pleasure to meet you..." He managed. Maka gave him a suspicious look.

"...Asura? Did you say Asura?" She asked. Asura felt a wave of fear wash over him for a moment, but Ryuukin stepped in.

"No, no Maka. You misheard. He said Azra. A-Z-R- A. It's Hebrew, meaning "one who is pure", or something like that." She said. Itachi sighed, thankful for her sister's useless knowledge.

"Oh, sorry! It just sounded similar." The scythe meister said.

"Ah, don't worry about it. Itachi made the same mistake!" Ryuukin glanced at her sister, who huffed and turned away.

"So, what are you guys doing?" Maka questioned, giving a friendly smile.

"Oh, just going to buy Azra some clothes. He really doesn't have anything to wear, we gave him some of dad's old clothes for now." Ryuukin explained. "And definitely some shoes." She added, looking down at his bare feet. Maka thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers.

"Why don't we come with you! When you're done we can all go hang out! We'll even introduce you to the others, they've been wanting to talk to you for a while anyways, since we only ever see you in class." Maka exclaimed, stating her idea proudly. Ryuukin looked at Itachi and Asura, whose expressions showed their obvious disagreement. Ryuukin shrugged.

"Sure, why not. Azra's not used to human interaction so it would be good for him." She stated, ignoring the horrified and annoyed expressions of the to older kids behind her. . "Oh, and Azra? You can let go of my hand now." Asura jumped, pulling his hand out of her's, almost like it was on fire. Soul huffed, but remained quiet, not wanting to anger either of the girls talking excitedly about something as the led the way out of the building.

* * *

Asura came to the conclusion that he didn't like shopping with girls. They seemed to like and hate everything and anything they found, even arguing over things. Ryuukin was especially picky. He noticed that she would watch him to be sure that he wasn't going for anything to similar to his preferred style. Basically, no execessive layers of clothing. He couldn't understand why she had to be so strict, sure he was in hiding, but it was just clothes. Strangely enough, he found the white haired scythe to relate to and complain to. Apparently he had his fair share of shopping trips.

All four girls were currently at the front of the group, Maka in the lead. From what Asura could hear it was about school. He really didn't care about the conversation, so he just looked around at the city. After Ryuukin had spent half an hour trying to convince him that all the people in the crowds at the mall were harmless, he began to adjust to them. No one bothered him if he didn't bother them. Meanwhile, Soul kept shooting curious looks at the Kishin. He just couldn't find what was so interesting to the other boy, then again, he seemed new to the city.

"...You don't get out much, do you? Azra?" Soul asked the other boy as he watched the blonde child kick a stone, only to have it ricochet off a wall and hit his head. Twitch gave a startled yip, falling to the ground. Asura picked the younger boy up and set him back on his feet.

"Huh?...Oh...uh...well I, uh...I haven't been outside for a really long time...first time I ever got out...there... there was...someone I didn't want to see, waiting for me...so I ran. Since then I've worked hard to make it to here... made it a few months back, been on the streets since..." Asura trailed off. He knew better than to tell the truth, but lying would be too confusing. Instead he settled for a vague, half truth. "I don't know what was harder, trying to get here, or actually being here."

"Wait." Soul said,"So you're a runaway?" Asura nodded, not sure what else to do. "What we're you running away from?" Soul asked, feeling a little bad for asking at the other's expression. Asura struggled to find a decent response, but couldn't think of anything. "You don't have to answer. It was kind of uncool of me to ask." The scythe added. He went to pat the other's back, in a friendly manner, but withdrew his hand when the other flinched.

"Ah...sorry..." Asura said, shifting a little. He wished he wasn't so afraid of the snowy haired boy, but he still remembered the determination to kill him. That's not something easy to forget, you know. In fact, he was beginning to question Ryuukin's motives. Why would she let these people come with them? He didn't know what he would do if she betrayed him, but for the moment, all he had was her promise of safety to rely on. All he could do was trust her and her family.

"No, don't apologize. I shouldn't have asked that." Soul said, trying to make things less tense. He didn't have to worry much, since Ryuukin dropped back to walk with the Kishin.

"Man you guys are slow. But Maka said we're almost at, wherever you guys are meeting up." Soul was honestly suprised at how quickly the other boy relaxed. Though he did seem to have a lot of trust issues. "How are you holding up?" She asked Asura as Soul drifted towards the front of their little group. Asura blinked, staring blankly at the girl.

"I'm fine. I just don't think this is a good idea." He replied, nodding towards Maka and Soul.

"Well, I think it will be okay. You trust me, right?" The dark haired girl asked.

"...Not necessarily, but...you have been really nice to me, so...do I really have a choice?" He asked, whispering. Ryuukin just rolled her eyes.

"Of course you have a choice. It might not seem like it right now, but there is never just one choice. They wouldn't call it a choice if there weren't at least two options, cause that would be a command, right? You have no choice, so you do as you're told." She stated. The way she talked about it was a little confusing for him, but it did make some sense.

"I...suppose you're right..." He said, looking up to the sky, but avoiding the sun.

"Oh, by the way, you don't mind dragons, do you? Or snakes. Or wolves. Or ferrets/weasels with manes of fire..." Ryuukin asked, trailing off at the end. Asura shot her a specific look.

"Why?" He asked defensively. "You're not going to let something like that eat me right? I doubt I would taste very good." He flinched a little when she laughed.

"No, no. Those are our pets. Inara is my dragon, but she's just a baby. Twitch has a wolf named Kip. Terra has an enchanted, ring shaped, ruby inlaid, obsidian snake with it's tail in it's mouth. It comes alive at her command and she calls it Ouborous. Itachi has the ferret. His name is Leviathan." Ryuukin hurriedly explained, before leaning in close to the Kishin, saying, "And, by the way, I think you'd be delicious." After that she stopped talking, letting him wonder what she might have been implying.

* * *

Hey, so I'm alive and here's the next chapter.


	5. A (really) Little Bit About the Girls

Itachi was suprised with how much fun she was having. Shopping with Asura was hilarious if only for the remarks he would make about 'modern clothes' when Maka and Soul weren't listening, or some strange snappy comments Ryuukin made when keeping him away from the excessive layers of clothing he was obviously fond of ("God dammit Azra, you're not a fucking cake!"). She also found how he would roll his eyes and respond with smartass or vague answers funny ("Well obviously I'm not, are you retarded?"). It was even better when Ryuukin and Asura were kicked out of one store for being too loud and growling at the poor employee who asked them to be quite.

She also found she liked Maka's company. She liked how Maka enjoyed reading. Itachi had admitted to loving fiction more than nonfiction because she like imagining herself in the story. Ryuukin had walked and talked with them for a while, but eventually dropped back to walk with Asura. After that Soul came to join them, leaving her sister with the Kishin. She could here the twins arguing behind her, she didn't say anything to them knowing that it would have been futile. After about an hour of walking from the mall, they arrived at a basketball court where five other people stood, dressed in t-shirts and shorts or long, baggy pants. Itachi recognized Death the Kid immediately, as well as his weapons.

"Hey guys! 'Bout time you showed up! What took so long?" Blackstar asked, looking at Maka and Soul before noticing Itachi. "Who's she?"

"Itachi Tsukashima." Kid stated nodding to her, like a greeting. Blackstar stared at her for a moment, as if he didn't recognize her, but only for a moment.

"OH YEAH! You're in our class with your sister, right? Why weren't you there this week?" He asked, pestering the blonde. She shrugged like it was nothing.

"Yes, we're in your class, and I was working this week, so I couldn't be there." She explained. "Ryuu and I switch weeks." Maka gave her a strange look.

"Wait, you're alo-" she was cut off by Blackstar demanding an answer to why she and Soul were late. Maka growled under her breath before slamming a book onto his head. "I was talking. We just went with Ryuukin and Itachi's family for a while. Now as I was saying, Shinigami-sama let's you miss a week of class?" Itachi nodded.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like either of us will miss anything. If I miss, Ryuu shows me what I missed. Besides, we need the money." Itachi would have said more but she felt something grab the back of her neck and the next thing she knew, she was face down on the ground. The blonde girl could hear the twins and Patty laugh. She looked up and saw Ryuukin on her back.

"Financial information is classified Ita-chan~" the dark haired girl stated. Itachi glared at her, before looking around. She noticed immediately that Asura wasn't there.

"Ryuu...where's Azra?" She asked her sister. Ryuukin looked around for a moment before spotting him.

"Right there," The girl said, pointing to a building," Behind that building." Everyone turned to look in the direction Ryuukin pointed in. Asura was watching them, hands gripping the wall as his head stuck out. He blinked once before ducking out of sight. Ryuukin sighed as everyone turned to look at them. "Twitch, fetch." She commanded, watching the child salute her, then running to get the Kishin.

"And who was that?" Kid asked, watching the little blonde try to talk the other into joining them. He couldn't make out their conversation, but the older boy seemed to be outright refusing to come over. The group's attention was drawn back to the two when Asura climbed out of the child's reach.

"Er...that's just Azra. Before you say anything, I said Azra, not Asura. Spelled A-Z-R- A. Maka made that mistake, I didn't want a repeat of it. Be careful, he's skittish...and sort of shy." Itachi explained, smiling at the fact that Twitch had managed to talk Asura into climbing down. The little boy motioned his sister over, and the conversation continued.

"Azra, huh? I bet I could beat him." Blackstar said, an excited gleam in his eye. Ryuukin and Itachi glared at him, startling him when he turned their way. "What?"

"Don't touch him, he isn't exactly well. I found him dying in an alley, he shouldn't do anything like that for a little while. You got that?" Ryuukin growled. Blackstar nodded, not because he was afraid of the girls, of course he wasn't! He was going to surpass God, so a couple of girls couldn't scare him! He just decided that it wouldn't be a good fight if one guy wasn't feeling well enough for a battle.

"Alright, fine. It wouldn't be very fun anyway if he's not feeling well. It would be too easy for me." He exclaimed, stretching. Kid turned to Itachi, fully intent on striking up a conversation with her. She was an interesting person, if you could pry things out of her, which was easier said than done. Of course, one didn't need to catch Itachi to speak to her, unlike her sister, who ran everywhere and over anything in her way.

"Well, it's good to know what happens to you every other week. I was planning on asking father about it if it kept up." Kid said to the blonde. Itachi raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "So, where do you work?"

"At 'Around the World'. It's a newer, multicultural restaurant in a bad part of town. The owner is Chef Shaymus Hatchet. The food is delicious." Itachi stated, shaking her head a little bit. She brushed her bangs out of her face.

"Hey Kid, we should go sometime." The older of his two weapons said. Kid nodded, it might be pretty interesting to see.

* * *

Asura stood close to the building, talking with the twins. They were asking him to join them with the others, something that he really didn't want to do. Instead he remained as far from the group as he could. "C'mon, it's not so bad. You'll be fine." Twitch whined, his sister glared at him.

"Shhsh. You talk waaaaaay too much and it never ever helps." Terra complained. Twitch crossed his arms and fixed his hat. It was a red, orange and yellow baseball hat. Asura couldn't think of anything else that would match the child's orange jacket, yellow shirt, red pants and black sneakers. That, coupled with the boy's blonde hair, made him look like a walking fireball.

"But if anyone tries to hurt him, I'll protect him. He's my big brother, so it's mah job anyways." The boy declared grinning at the elder. The Kishin gave Twitch a curious look.

"And when was it decided that I would be your brother?" He asked the younger. Both children shared a look as though it should be obvious.

"When we were told 'bout you-" Terra started.

"And met for the first time-" Twitch continued.

"We both thought that-"

"Since we've only ever had big sisters-"

"That a big brother would be nice-"5

"And I could have someone to play with-"

"We mean, I have big sisters, but-"

"I don't got no one, so-"

"He'd get lonely-"

"Besides-"

"Haven't you ever wanted a little brother?" They finished together. Asura stared at them, slightly thrown off by the sentence stealing. He blinked and shook his head slightly.

"I have no say in this, do I?" He asked, sighing when they shook their heads. "Of course not. Well then, I guess it's good that I've always wanted a little brother." He stated it as if it were obvious. Twitch's whole face seemed to light up as he shrieked in joy, dancing around with his arms in the air. The Kishin watched him as the boy danced circles around him, reaching out and pacing a hand on Twitch's head to stop him. Said kid stopped moving immediately.

"Come over?" The twins asked in unison. Asura sighed, nodding. Both kids happily dragged him over. They all smiled at him, and he was glad that none of them showed any recognition of him. The Kishin watched the Shibusen students cautiously as they greeted him, to his surprise, warmly. Instead of speaking, he just waved awkwardly at them, jumping when a ringing sound cut through the air. Itachi jumped as well, hurriedly pulling out her cell phone.

"Ah! It's Hatchet!" She exclaimed, before looking at Ryuukin. "He needs help at the restaurant!" She grabbed her sister, running away from the gang with Asura and the twins following quickly after. Asura just didn't want to be left with thee remaining people. Said people shared glances, deciding to play one game before finding the restaurant.

* * *

A relatively tall man with short brown hair and piercing blue eyes stared at the pile of kids sprawled out on the ground. Most of them were panting heavily, especially the eldest boy, with his hand over his chest as he coughed. It seemed like none of them them could catch their breaths, although the children were recovering quicker, the lost energy replaced by a new energy. The only one of the group still standing was the dark haired girl, who was dragging the older boy behind her. The man smiled kindly, knowing all to well how fast Ryuukin could be.

"Ryuukin." He nodded curiously to the unknown boy among the little pile, still having trouble breathing properly. His tone was strict, as well as his appearance, and the girl knew he knew. Still she smiled at him.

"That's Azra. He's staying with us." The man raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Ryuukin knew enough about her boss to know that she should keep talking. "I found him starving to death in an alley, so don't give me that look. I wasn't going to leave him for dead." Hatchet heaved a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Tha's th' Kish'n ain't it?" The chef asked. Ryuukin mentally cursed herself for forgetting Chef Hatchet's ability to know. She never figured out he knew everything he did, but the man seemed to just know. It was a frustrating talent of his. The chef's suspicions were confirmed by the startled choking sound Asura made, but he felt slight pity at the terrified expression on the Kishin's face that he was trying so desperately to hide.

"Can't hide nuthin' from you, can I?" Ryuukin pouted, puffing out her cheeks. "I don't know how you do it. Either way, he's staying with us. Nothing you say will change my mind."

"I wouldn't try to. But the first time I think he's a danger, I'm turning him in." The man stated, walking away from them. Ryuukin huffed, turning to her family plus one to see how they were doing. Once everyone was better, the girls spent the night working while Asura sat at a table, listening to his weapons rant about nothing.

* * *

Sorry for the sort of shifty quality this chapter.


	6. Day Three

**I just want to say thanks to the people who reviewed, followed and/or favorites this story. Without you guys, I doubt I could keep writing. I love you all.**

* * *

The weekend passed buy quickly, too quickly, in fact. Itachi was going to Shibusen that week and offered to go and have Asura enrolled in the school. He refused her offer, deciding to use the fact that he wasn't sure if he could resonate with the twins. In reality, he wasn't very comfortable with Itachi and would rather have Ryuukin with him when he enrolled. Itachi just seemed like she would turn him over the first chance she got, he didn't want that. Instead he was with Ryuukin and the twins at the restaurant.

Asura was a little intimidated by the sheer size of the place. It was almost all one giant room with a massive indoor balcony. The decorative fences that separated the customers from falling changed with the room's theme. Holding up the balcony were large wooden pillars carved with ornate designs. One massive, candle lit chandelier hung from the ceiling and the Kishin wondered how they managed to light every single candle. He shook his head and glanced around bored. The twins were sitting across from him, scribbling on blank sheets of paper.

He let out a bored sigh, turning his attention to the throng of people. He could see Ryuukin running around with large trays piled high with food. She had a different uniform than the one she found him in. This one resembled a maid outfit, with a corset and a large white bow in the back. The skirt was also rather short, in his opinion at least, but off course that didn't stop him from staring. He remembered being hit with a rolled up newspaper for it. He was also hit for a comment that was best left unrepeated about...well, nevermind. The Kishin attempted to use his current age as an excuse though, and was glad to be let off with a warning.

With another sigh, he turned back to the twins, jumping out of his seat when he came face to face with a little blue creature. He stared down at it not sure what to do. It had a long body, about two feet from nose to tail, and was covered in frosty blue scales. Little nubby horns sprouted from it's head, right above it's slightly large ears. A tiny snowflake shaped...thing...tipped the end of it's tail. The wings were bat-like with a silver membrane stretched across them. White fur tumbled from it's head, down it's body and ended at the tip of the tail. It's large, icy eyes stared back, examining the Kishin just as thoroughly.

The twins took notice of it almost immediately, smiling at it. "Inara! Where were you?" Terra asked. It looked at the children, letting out a soft kyuu sound. Then it curled into a ball on the table, watching the passing people.

"...Is this Ryuukin's dragon?" Asura asked the twins, who nodded. He noticed that Terra had a strange snake charm around her neck that he was sure wasn't there before. The girl must have noticed him staring because she put a hand to it.

"This is my Ouborous. He's such a sweetie." She explained. There was a lot of affection in her voice when she mentioned it. He wondered how she got it, because she was stroking the snake's head gently. It was then that a thought crossed his mind. What we're the twins even doing in Death City? Did their parents know they were there? We're they worried about the children? He realized that he knew absolutely nothing about these people. If they were friends, shouldn't he at least know a little bit about them?

"...Uh...you two. Where...er...where are your parents?" He asked. The twins stared at him and shared a sad look. He immediately regretted asking them but managed not to show it.

"Dead." The twins replied. They said it so easily, as if they didn't care or already accepted it. Twitch looked at the Kishin curiously.

"What about you? Where's your parents?" As the words left the boy's mouth, Asura choked. He hadn't expected to be asked the same thing. He realized that the children, as well as the dragon and snake, were watching him expectantly.

"...I don't...really...uh...well...you see..." He mentally cursed himself for stuttering, but he considered family a taboo subject since, well he wasn't sure when. Sometime between the start of losing his mind to his revival. Of course these kids couldn't have known that because the subject hadn't come up in the three days he was with them. "It's not something that I like to talk about."

"Well, can you tell us if they're dead?" Terra asked curiously.

"..."

"Or alive?" Twitch added.

"..."

"C'mon!" Terra pushed.

"We told you!" Twitch stated.

"Also, do you have any brothers or sisters?" They asked simultaneously.

"Fine." He huffed. "My father is alive, but I don't know about my mother." Asura wondered if he should continue or not because the twins looked like they were trying to piece together who they were. "And I also have...a brother." He regretted saying that when their eyes light up in recognition. He groaned and slammed his head into the table, ignoring the stares of those around him.

* * *

Ryuukin had seen the whole exchange between the Kishin and the twins earlier. She had no clue what was said though. Now it was almost closing time and Asura hadn't moved at all. She was beginning to think he might have fallen asleep at the table. The main reason she came to that conclusion was because at some point in the day Inara had climbed onto his head and fell asleep. The waitress was sure Asura wouldn't have normally allowed that to happen. Also the fact that the twins were currently seeing how much stuff they could pile on top of him and not getting a reaction was a pretty big tip off.

Soon the last customers left the building and Ryuukin went to wake Asura. Of course, she removed the mountain of papers, plates, silverware, pencils and an array of precariously placed knives taken from the kitchen via stealth dragon. Only then did she shake the Kishin awake. He groaned and glared sleepily at her, but stood up and stretched anyway.

"Hey, Asura. Wanna play in the basement? Hatchet's got a lot of cool things down there." She proposed. At first he didn't respond, but then shrugged and held out one arm. As expected the twins latched on and began to drag him to the basement. Ryuukin followed quickly, knowing not to leave anyone alone with the children for long.

When she got down there, the twins had forced Asura to sit on the floor with them. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Resonance." All three of them stated. Asura looked exhausted while the twins looked wide awake.

"Oh...okay. I'll help." She sat cross-legged beside the three. Inara came to lay in her lap, purring. "Transform." The twins did as they were told to, becoming long, sharp blades attached to a metal plate with a bar to hold onto. Asura grasped the unfamiliar weapons cautiously. "Now close your eyes and focus. And try not to fall asleep Asu-kun." The Kishin muttered something under his breath, but complied. "Now let's begin."

* * *

Gunna end it here. Sorry that it's short.


	7. Failure and Madness

Asura shifted nervously, he didn't want to admit that he was afraid of resonating with the twins but if something went wrong...he didn't want to be blamed for it. If Ryuukin thought he messed up on purpose, she might get rid of him. He had to be careful. Ryuukin told him to close his eyes, so he did. He tried to focus, pushing the exhaustion away. "Now let's begin."

Asura took a deep breath, Ryuukin was still talking, but he couldn't hear her. He was focused on finding the twins wavelengths, but it was dark, so very dark. In an instant he felt the ground give away and he was floating in an empty space, much like an abyss. It was darker than it previously was. Panic was beginning to well up inside of him,but he tried to ignore it. He looked around, and saw two little lights off in the distance. They felt familiar, and he recognized the twins wavelengths. Even from that distance he could sense Terra's calm, gentle wavelength. Synchronizing with her would be simple.

He could feel Twitch's wavelength as well, but it would be hard to match his. The young boy's soul produced powerful wavelengths, the likes of which Asura had never seen before. It wasn't that there was something overly special about the boy, he just had so much energy, so much optimism. It radiated an insane power similar to the Kishin's own madness wavelength, the only difference was that it was on the other side of the spectrum. The boy's mere presence could brighten up a room and have everyone up on their feet.

Asura wondered how his sister could resonate with him at all before thinking that maybe it was her calm soul that kept her brother's in check. The Kishin sighed deciding to start with the girl first. He reached for her soul, but was stopped by some sort of barrier. When he tried to push past it, he received a nasty shock. In fear of the pain he stopped. A dark chuckle reverberated through the space, sending chills up his spine. "Did you really think that would work?" The voice scared Asura, because it was his voice, only darker, more threatening.

Asura turned around, coming face to face with himself. It was him before his defeat, no, that was just the image it had. It was the madness, he knew it was. The thing before him was more of a shadow anyway, the shadow of his madness. The shade chuckled again, reaching out to him. He flinched away, a terrified look on his face. "Tsk, Tsk. Now don't be like that Asu-kun~" the shade cooed in a sickly sweet tone. The Kishin felt a slight anger at the words, Ryuukin called him that, only his friends could call him that. The shade faked a hurt expression, leaning towards Asura, both hands behind it's back and a pout on it's lips.

"Awww~...but Asu-kun, I thought I was your friend..." A predatory grin crept onto it's face. It's hand shot out and wrapped around his throat, pulling him closer. "Don't tell me that you're replacing me?" Asura choked, gasping for air. "Well? ARE YOU?!" The shade yelled furiously. Only when Asura began clawing at the hands around his neck did the shadow let go. He was terrified at the moment, shaking and coughing and gasping for air. The shade knelt next to him, gently wrapping it's arms around his body. It should have been comforting, but knowing what it was made everything much worse. He tried to push the shade off of him, but it only held on tighter.

"LET ME GO!" Asura yelled, struggling against the other. He didn't like how it was so close, knowing that it only wanted to drag him back into madness. "GET AWAY!" The shade only laughed at his poor attempts at escape.

"Come on Asu-kun~! Remember how nice it was to not worry about anything? To have no fear?" It said, the air was getting heavier and Asura felt tired. Even so, he continued to struggle, there was just less energy behind it. "You wouldn't have to worry about Shibusen finding you or those people getting bored of you or anything else ever again." The shade had some good points, he had to admit that, but she promised... "And what good is that human girl's promise? She doesn't even know you. How can you trust her over me? I've been with you for over eight hundred years, she's only been with you for three days!"

Asura thought about it, it was true. What good would it do to stick around? He shook his head slightly, that was the madness trying to drag him down. It didn't help though, his mind was all foggy and he could feel himself slipping...

* * *

Ryuukin was worried, the resonance failed but Asura hadn't moved. According to Twitch and Terra, there was a barrier of sorts preventing them from reaching the Kishin. She hoped he was okay, but he looked like he was in a trance. 'Enough is enough,' she thought as she reached out to shake him. The moment she touched him, his eyes snapped open, only instead of being pure red they had the vertical eye marks in them again. He gave a pained whine, putting his head in his hands. "Asura?" She said, worry creeping into her voice. She went to touch him again, but he lashed out, smacking her hand away with unnecessary force.

"Asura?" He growled at her, standing slowly. She could see it in his eyes, he was falling back into the madness. But why? Why was this happening to him? He didn't deserve it! "Asura, please...fight it." She said. He just looked at her and chuckled, a maniacal grin plastered across his face.

"Why should I? When I'm like this nothing can touch me! It's safe!" He exclaimed. "Why not join me?" Ryuukin shook her head, she had to bring him back as fast as possible and she knew it. He frowned at her rejection, but she couldn't tell if it was in anger or disappointment.

"I can't do that." She said. Now he was angry with her, if he wasn't before. Almost as soon as the words left her mouth he attacked, slamming his fist into her stomach hard enough to make her cough up blood. She went flying, her head hitting the corner of a poorly placed table. Both children cried out in fear when Ryuukin didn't get up, drawing the Kishin's attention away from her.

"What about you two?" He asked, watching Twitch push his sister behind him. "Join big brother?" All the blonde child did was stare. This only angered him even more and he stalked towards the kids. The twins noticed movement behind the Kishin, but kept their eyes on him. Best to keep attention away from their big sister. That seemed to work since he didn't even see her stand up again.

Ryuukin knew something was wrong with Asura, she knew she had to stop him. She didn't know why she could sense his madness wavelength, but from what she could tell, it was really messed up. This gave her an idea, even if it was risky she would try it.

"Hey, Asura! Over here." She said, gaining his attention. He tilted his head in confusion.

"You...are not dead?" It must have been hard for him to understand why she was still breathing.

"I'm very durable." The girl shrugged, acting like the fact that fact that she could die was nothing. "And you need to stop this. It's ridiculous. You're being completely irrational and it won't help you to lose it now. Trust me. I don't want you or anyone else to get hurt." Asura chuckled darkly.

"And what can a human like you do?" He asked, advancing towards her.

"Who said it would be me?" She replied, using another question. "You just assumed I meant I would do something." She felt nothing at the moment, and nothing at all. Asura could feel her soul and she knew he could. That lack of emotion should scare him, no fear, no pain, not even a hint of courage could be felt. It was almost like she was dead. Asura kept calm though, having learned from past mistakes. He would not let a lowly human beat him again. But if she wasn't saying that she would stop him then...

He spun around, the children were gone. He located them quickly with his soul perception, they were right beside him, damn. Twitch and Terra reached out, grabbing the Kishin's hand. It happened to fast for him to process. One second he was ready to kill them, the next it felt like he was being ripped apart on a molecular level. It hurt so much, like drowning, burning and being electrocuted all at once. He couldn't breath, and his legs gave out. "W-w-what...?"

"Twitch and Terra have a...strange ability," Ryuukin began, kneeling beside him. "They can...disrupt a wavelength's natural rhythm. They practiced on sound waves and electromagnetic waves in the air. Kept fucking with the TV when I was watching my shows, changing channels and shutting it down. They discovered souls work similarly to other waves. Each one has its own wavelength and frequency, and they can mess them up, causing temporary incompatibility with weapon partners and intense pain , in some cases." She sighed, grabbing a fist full of his hair. "I can sense that your madness isn't so strong anymore and I'm so sorry for what I'm gonna do, but I gotta knock some sense into you." He just glared venomously at her.

"You..you said...that you'd...p-protect me..." He growled. All she did was sigh.

"Sometimes, you have to hurt the ones you care about. I'm still protecting you, since I'm protecting you from yourself." She explained, lifting his head higher and slamming it into the ground. The Kishin layed there for a few moments with hazy eyes, before sitting up slowly.

"...owwww...what..?" He rubbed his head, grimacing from the pain. Ryuukin smiled, throwing herself at him and hugging him tightly. She buried her head in his chest and he would swear that she was shaking. "W-w-what...?!"

"Why don't we go home for now?" She asked, grinning up at him. He looked down at her, eyes wide at the sight of blood. When did she get hurt? He couldn't remember, in fact, the last thing he remembered was trying to resonate with the twins. Everything else was a blur.

"...What happened?" He asked. She was using the innocent smile that usually meant she wasn't going to tell. "You're hurt." Asura motioned to the bloody gash on her forehead and the blood dripping from her mouth. Her smile fell as she avoided making any eye contact, pulling away from her friend. This only upset the Kishin. He knew something had happened, but she wasn't telling him. If he did something wrong he wanted to know what he did so he could fix it. "Ryuukin! What did I do?" He grabbed her shoulders so she couldn't go any father. She sighed, glancing at him. It looked to her like he was having a panic attack.

"...The resonance failed, but..." She hesitated, looking at the twins who had a startled dragonet stretched across their shoulders, her white fur on end. "...you were in some kind of a trance...the twins mentioned a barrier. It kept them from reaching you." Ryuukin took a deep breath. "When you woke up...you...I could tell you were starting to fall back into madness...you asked me to join you..." She considered stopping, but Asura motioned for her to continue. "I declined...and you hit me...right here," Ryuukin lightly patted the area, which hurt a lot still, but she tried not to show it for Asura's sake.

"I fell and hit my head...then you went for the twins..."She didn't miss how his gaze flickered towards his weapons for a split second. "Inara hid under a table, she was ready to kill you...I told her no. You told them to join you, but all they did was stare...I got your attention...and they fucked up your wavelengths...it must've hurt...the I smashed your head off the floor." As far as she was concerned, that was the best explanation she could give him. She could almost feel the guilt. Asura wouldn't even look at her. He didn't say anything until they got back to the apartment. Once they returned Asura went to lock himself in his room, but not before muttering three words, almost too quiet to hear.

"I'm so sorry."

* * *

**So yeah. Here's the next one.**


	8. A Lesson on Love?

Ryuukin sighed, it had been about three days since the attempted resonance and madness. Asura refused to talk to anyone afterwards, snapping at everything or ignoring the family. Instead, he spent a day locked in his room and the rest sitting on the couch, reading the books in her house. There were so many books stacked around him like a fortress. That was the least of her worries though. For the past two days, she's had a massive headache and she refused to see a doctor about it. Itachi was worried, she knew exactly what was wrong with Ryuukin, but she was at Shibusen.

She sighed, it was time to go food shopping. If her boss hadn't forced her to take the day off she would be at work, but he was also aware of her ailment. It was a curse the sisters shared, and one she planned on hiding from Asura. There was no reason to worry about anyone else getting ill since it wasn't contagious. She walked by the couch, stopping to tell the Kishin where she was going. "I'm going out to buy food, okay?" Silence. He wouldn't even look at her."Do you two want to come?" She asked the twins.

For a second, their eyes lit up, but they looked at Asura before shaking their heads. "We'll stay with big brother." Terra stated. Ryuukin knew that they would do that. Since Asura started coming out of his room again, the children were constantly by his side. Before, they just sat by his bedroom door, waiting for him to come out. Now, they would sit close by his side without saying a word. Usually the kids would draw or color or read their own stories.

"Alright, I'll be back in an hour." She said a slightly strained quality to her voice. She grabbed her satchel, walking out the door and to the employee stairway. Once on the landing she let out the coughs she'd been holding back. It soon grew into a violent coughing fit and she had to grip the railing for support. Once it was over, she had a metallic taste in her mouth. Blood. It was on the hand that covered her mouth and dripped from the corners of her mouth. "This is such a pain." She mumbled to herself. "There's more than last time. " Now recovered, she made her way to the store.

Ryuukin was always a picky shopper, preferring specialty stores over supermarkets. She was glad to have found a few of those around the city. She went off and got some fresh bread, ham, and vegetables. The twins needed to eat more of those, vegetables that is. She constantly caught them trying to sneak extra cookies after dinner and Inara was no help. She tried to have the dragon guard the cookie jar, but she was easy to bribe, just offer her a couple cookies and that little critter would be out of the way. At least Inara couldn't open the jar herself, there wouldn't be any cookies left if she could.

Ryuukin snickered to herself. Inara was a smart little thing, but how the dragon could open windows and not lift a lid was bewildering. The girl sighed, feeling nauseous and dizzy all of a sudden. She looked around as she clutched her stomach, spotting a trash can. She hurried over, pulling her hair away as she heaved into it. A few concerned people came over to check on the girl, but she brushed them of saying that it must have been something she ate. As the people left, she peeked into the can, grimacing at the amount of blood in it. In fact it was mostly blood. She grabbed the bags she dropped, continuing home.

She started walking through alleys, hoping to get back before it got worse. Strange things began happening on the way. She wasn't even half way home when she started seeing the eyes. They were ovals with smaller ovals inside to make pupils. There were three triangles above the oddly shaped eye and the whole thing glowed blue. The familiar symbol frightened the girl and she began running, but the dizziness came rushing back and she sprawled onto the ground. Ryuukin tried to push herself up, but it was no use, her illness sapped most of her energy. She could hardly stand, but she managed. Getting home was the only thing on her mind, so she put her speed to good use.

* * *

Right after Ryuukin left, Asura finished reading his book. He absent mindedly reached out to pet Inara's soft fur. The dragon wasn't curled up by his side though, like she had been. Instead, she made a beeline for the kitchen. From his seat, he could see her climb onto counter and up to the window. She sat there, staring down at the street, her head following something. The children peeked into the kitchen to see the dragon at the window.

"She's watching Ryuu-Chan." Twitch said. He went back to the couch, taking books that Asura already read and stacking them on the floor beside the couch.

"She'll sit there til sister comes back." Terra added, deeming the information necessary. She went to help her twin with his book fort. Asura glanced at the dragon curiously. All the memories he had of dragons, everything he remembered being taught seemed wrong when he saw the little critter. He had been taught that they were ruthless killers, monsters that had to be killed in order to protect humans. Inara was different though, she was obviously loyal to Ryuukin. Or was she really not so different from other dragons? He was told by Shinigami that dragons were evil, that they must be killed. What if the dragon were really like Inara?

"Why is she so fond of Ryuukin?" Asura asked the twins. They stared him.

"Because she loves Ryuukin." Terra stated, making a base of books for their fort. Twitch came over and started stacking more books on top of the base. Asura was confused.

"But what does that mean? Why does she 'love' Ryuukin?" The Kishin asked, watching the twins work. He didn't really understand the emotion.

"Ryuukin says that every one has a different definition of love. Like, I love Terra because she's my sister." Twitch explained as well as a five year old could. "We was in an orphanage together an' we was on the streets together. We took care of each other." Asura nodded, understanding the logic behind it but not the actual emotion. It seemed like the emotion ran deep, not just imagination. He was still skeptical of the whole reasoning behind emotions, though Twitch and Terra's connection ran deeper than what he always assumed. At least, that's what it sounded like.

"And you love Ryuukin?" He asked, receiving a nod from both kids. "Why?"

"Big sister was nice to us an' accepted us and our...ability..." Terra stated. "She tried to protect us from a pre-kishin even when she couldn't resonate with Ita-chan. An' she let us live with her an' Ita-chan, even though it was our fault she got hurt." The Kishin listened to the little girl, trying to put the pieces together. So far he figured out that they 'loved' each other because they were outcast from their home and they would have been alone, and probably dead without each other. They 'loved' Ryuukin, because she didn't treat them like there was something wrong with them. She even went so far as to give them a real home. But the dragon?

"And Inara?" Asura asked, glancing towards the dragon. The twins eyes lit up, they obviously knew why.

"Ryuu-chan freed Inara." Twitch said. "She told us the story 'bout Inara."

"Yup. Inara was found by a witch as an egg an' hatched. The witch found out she it was a dragon egg an' tried to raise her to be bad." Terra started the story, happy to have Asura listening.

"When Inara didn' listen, she was put in a little cage. Ryuu-chan says the witch even broke her wings so she couldn' fly away."

"Ryuu-chan an' Ita-chan were caught by the witch an' when they escaped, Ryuu-chan stopped an' opened Inara's cage."

"Inara didn't come out right away an' Ita-chan tried to make Ryuu leave, but she wouldn' leave Inara."

"The witch caught up to them an' Ryuu tried to fight her off so Inara could escape."

"The witch knocked Ryuu-chan down an' tried to attack her and Inara jumped out of the cage an' killed the witch." Twitch finished. He added the final book to their fort, which was a little smaller than him. "Inara loves Ryuu-chan for being the first nice person she met an' giving her freedom."

"Oh..." That was all Asura could say. They way the twins talked about it made it sound like there was something more complicated. What ever the family had been through seemed to play a part in this emotion. Even though he knew he was a long way from fully understanding what 'love' was, there was a small feeling of accomplishment at having learned something. Twitch and Terra shared a pleased look as they started adding the unread books to the fort walls.

"You should ask Ryuu-chan 'bout it. She knows more than us 'cause she's bigger." They said simultaneously. Asura have them a confused and slightly curious glance. That was the second time they did that, wasn't it? He found it a little creepy.

"Y'know, I was thinkin'...maybe we should try resonating again." Terra suggested. Twitch nodded in agreement, but the Kishin shook his head.

"Remember what happened last time?" He asked, not wanting to deal with his own suppressed madness. He also didn't want to be shocked by them again. It was not a pleasant experience. "Besides, I wasn't able to reach you."

"Well, that's 'cause a that barrier thingy. It's like a wall." Twitch stated rather matter-of-factly. Terra wandered off momentarily, returning shortly with a blanket. Her brother helped her throw it over the fort, then weighed it down with four larger books. "Try walkin' through it."

"I'd rather not." Asura said, watching the children crawl into their fort. They beckoned for him to join them, but he crossed his arms. "I will not do something so childish." He stated. They glared at him, then looked at each other.

"Twitch, tell big brother that I don't wanna talk to him if he doesn't come in!" The little girl exclaimed. Her brother shook his head.

"I can't. I'm not talkin' to him either!" The blonde child argued. Asura frowned, mentally cursing the children's stubbornness.

"Fine!" The Kishin groaned. "Move over." He got down on his hands and knees, crawling into the small fort. He found that it was bigger inside than it looked, his head still touched the blanket roof and he had to sit with his legs drawn up to his chest, but it was more comfortable than he thought it would be. Twitch was the first to speak after everyone settled down.

"Why won't you try?" He asked. Asura sighed.

"Last time, it hurt to try to get through..." He stated, sounding a little ashamed.

"Well, let's try again. If you get your arm through, we'll pull you out to join us." Terra said. They looked at him expectantly with puppy-eyes and the Kishin caved.

"Fine, but don't make that face ever again." He told them. They giggled, transforming into their weapon forms.

"No promises!" They said. Asura closed his eyes and focused.

* * *

He was floating back in the darkness, but instead of panicking again he pin-pointed the twins souls. He wasted no time in trying to reach them, only to be stopped by the barrier again. It caught him off guard, and he backed away. The Kishin shook his head, he would not let this stop him again. The twins were so sure that he could do it and it felt...wrong to disappoint them.

"Big brother!" He looked down and saw Twitch and Terra floating in front of him. They waved happily.

"You two..." He didn't know what to say. He was relieved to see them, it made him feel a little less alone. Even though he could feel their souls, it wasn't the same.

"C'mon!" They said, holding their hands out to him. He reached out nervously, yet again feeling the strange force trying to stop him. He ignored it though, and pressed forward. It hurt, and he closed his eyes, trying to force it away. Suddenly he felt something pull on his hand and the pain increased, he knew the twins were pulling him through. The pain vanished as if it never existed in the first place, and the children held onto him tightly. He was suprised to feel their wavelengths matching up, like a puzzle. They looked so happy, broad smiles etched onto their little faces and Asura smiled with them.

* * *

They were drawn back to the walking world by the sound of a slamming door and and tiny claws clicking on a linoleum floor. Not long after that was the sound of multiple things hitting the ground, one thud louder than the rest. Asura jumped, sending the blanket flying. He looked to the door, seeing Ryuukin collapsed on the floor the twins transformed and hurried to her side, the Kishin right behind them.

"Ryuu-chan!"They cried, giving Asura no choice but to hold them back.

"You can't help her if you just jump on her!" He exclaimed. "Take care of those and contact Itachi!" The children, desperate to help their older sister, rushed to do as they were told. Asura knelt beside her, shopping her up and carrying her to the couch. He set her down gently, afraid that he would hurt her. She was hot, burning up, but she shivered like she was cold. Sweat dropped down her face and her brow was furrowed in discomfort. He hoped Itachi would come soon, she'd know what to do. "Don't worry Ryuukin, you're going to be fine." He said to the unconscious girl, although he wasn't sure who he was reassuring.

* * *

Here's the next chapter. I hope it's okay.


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